The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-29
RUIN AMONG THE GRAVES
FALSE SENTIMENT IN THE WAY OF
USING THE OLD CEMETERY.

Committee Cemetery an I'm
slightly Spot Human Bones Exposed
to the Action of the Elements-The
Dead Uncared For by Their Rela
tions.
The Judiciary Committee of the House Of
Representatives reported unfavorably upor
the bill to vest the title to the old cemetery
in the County Commissioners of Chatham
county, but have reconsidered their action
and heard an argument by Capt. Gordon
the introducer of the bill. When the bill
was taken up by the committee arguments
were made in opposition by Hon. Phil nj.
Russell, a member of the COM
mittee, and by Marion Erwin Esq, as
attorney for certain citizens. The commit
tee, however, failed to notify even Capt.
Gordon that it had heard arguments in OPP
position to the bill, and therefore no one APP
peared to advocate it, and as a consequence
an adverse report was unanimously
adopted. Capt. Gordon heard of this,
and requested the committee to recon-
slider its action, and hear him. This
the committee did, and after he
had spoken Messrs. Russell and Erwin an
swered him. There is a good deal of
feeling here about the action of the commit
tee in this regard, and it is thought
that it should have heard both sides be-
fore coming 10 any decision upon the bill
1t is generally believed that if the Chatham
Representatives had been unanimous there
would have been no trouble about passing
this bill, which meets with the approval of
all the citizens of Savannah except a very
small number.
THE OPPOSITION DYING OUT.
If the bill should not pass, however, the
objects of those who are looking to the adj
vancement of the city's interests will not be
defeated, for if the Legislature refuses to
give the property to the county it will re
main as it Is now under the absolute control
of the city, and when the claim of Christ's
church has been settled in court the city can
divert it, or such part of it as may be
awarded to it, if the claim of the church is
sustained, to public uses. The city would
have Joined the county in the bill had
it not been that to do so a change
in the caption would have been necessary
and delay of thirty days in advertising
would have been caused, but in view of the
fact that the failure of the Legislature to
act will only establish more firmly the city's
control of the property, the city's failure to
join the county in advocating the bill is not
deemed to be of great Importance.
The opposition to the utilization of the
property is vague and intangible. There
seems to be no one here who openly opposes
the measure. When it was taken up some
years ago there were some who did not IA
vor it, and they were known, but a gentle
man who is interested, said, yesterday, that
he could hear of no one now who connected
his own name with the opposition, ex-
cept Mr.. Russell. "This," he continued,
ais proof positive of the fact that the oppo-
sition has almost died out. / know that
some people do not wish to have public
building erected ON a part of the lot, but
they feel that the cemetery will have to go,
and they are not disposed to come out
openly and oppose measure that must in
evitably be won"
FALSE SENTIMENT THE OBSTACLE.
DIR. William Duncan, who has been work
ing in favor of the movement for some
time was seen yesterday, and asked his
views on the subject. He said: "T'his senti-
ment that is the ground for the opposition
is a false sentiment The old cemetery is
allowed to go to ruin, and those who are
loudest in their opposition take no care
whatever of the graves of their dead They
allow weeds to grow up over the whole
place, the vaults to go to ruin, and the
tombstoneS TO fall down, and they will do
nothing to keep the place in decent order
The weeds are cut down twice year by the
city, but the city is not financially able to
take care of the place, and those who wish it
to remain untouched do not seem to care
enough about it to give it any attention
The vaults are uncared for, and many of
them are in a most dilapidated condition
Two of them have been given to me. Mrs.
Goodwin gave me hers, and the
Clinch vault has been given me-
The Goodwin vault has been
removed, and will have the Clinch vault
removed. They are my private property,
ara can do as please with them. If the
cemetery should be utilized walks would be
lasI 4
on them, but not over the graves. No
streets would be laid out, but the place
would be made beautiful and useful at the
same time.
WHO THE OPPONENTS ARE.
"But sentiment stands in the way People
do not seem to realize that when the spirit
has left the body the person has departed.
There is no person lying in that cemetery.
Only thel bones are left, and they might be
moved and buried elsewhere The cemetery
is used for the most horrible purposes, of
which the people generally know nothing,
and | am sure that it would be better
to have the remains moved to
a guarded spot than to have
such things going on about the ground in
which they are buried. Most of the bodies
Of people who have living relatives have
been moved away There arc very few
there now and they could easily be removed
A'oaAiO oIPooS OhS VI VI IuS CtlutUtTy
because they are not sure that they can find
the bones of their dead. l think these
people might at least withhold their OPP
position until they find out whether
they can or cannot find the bones. They
simply oppose without making the effort to
learn whether there is reason for opposition
False sentiment is at the bottom of it all,
and good deal of the opposition comes
from people who wish to make it appear
that they are connected with the old fam
lies of Savannah. Only the relations of the
old families were buried there and some
think that by opposing the bill
on the ground that they have
relations there they connect them
selves with these old families, but
i do not care about that In this country
one man is as good as another, even if the
other can trace his family back a little fur
ther, and whether they be old families or new,
the dead have to make way for the living,
The progress of the city cannot be stopped
for the sake of the dead. / think that senti-
ment in such a case as this is foolish. II is
a practical question, and this sentiment
must be banished."
A sICKENING SPECTACLE.
A walk through the cemetery will show
what DR. Duncan means when he says that
those who are opposing the measure take
no care of the place. A number of the
vaults have so decayed that the rain pours
in on the collins that holds the bones of the
dead. Doors have fallen off and glance